Crate.



DON F. PAYNE, OF CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS.

CRATE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 5, 1909.

Application filed October 26, 1908. Serial No. 459,480.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DON F. PAYNE, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of Corpus Christi, in the county of Nueces and State of Texas,have invented a new and Improved Crate, of which the following is afull, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to crates used for shipping, my more particularpurpose being to provide a type of crate which maybe folded readily whennot in use, and provided with top and bottom members detachable fromother portions of the crate and adapted to be sprung into position forthe purpose of holding them securely.

My invention further relates to means for securing the removable membersof the crate firmly in position relatively to the body portion, by aidof appropriate fastenings.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar characters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a perspective showing the crate provided with its bottommember, the top member, however, being removed; Fig. 2 is a fragmentaryside elevation showing the crate as it appears when the top member isbeing placed in position upon it; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side elevationshowing the top member as sprung into its normal position; and Fig. 4 isa diagram showing how the body portion of the crate is folded.

A number of rods 5 are connected together by aid of side panels 6 andend panels 7. Four rods 8, 9, 10, 11 connect the side and end panelstogether at their ends, thus forming hinged corners for the purpose ofenabling the body portion to be readily folded, as will be understoodfrom the diagram in Fig. 4. The top and bottom removable members areexactly alike, the top member being shown in perspective in the upperlefthand portion of Fig. 1.

A number of thin boards 12 of spring material are connected together byaid of slats 13, 11, 15, the slats 13, 15 being somewhat thinner thanthe slat 1 1. In order to insert either of the removable members, it isplaced in such position (see Fig. 2) that the slat 13 projects partiallybeneath one of the end panels 7, the slat 14; resting directly upon theside panels 6, while the slat 15 is raised slightly above the under sideof the other end panel 7. The slat 15 is next depressed a little so thatthe adjacent ends of the boards 12 slip underneath the end panel 7 atthat end of the crate. This securely fastens the removable member inposition, as will be understood from Fig. 3. The slat 11 is a littlelonger than the slats 13 in order to support the removable member whilethe slats 13, 15 are being adjusted relatively to the end panels 7 Theends of the boards 12 project slightly beyond the adjacent slats 13, 15,so that when a removable member is placed in position as indicated inFig. 3, the slats 13, 15 have little or no play relatively to the endpanels 7, and yet the ends of the boards 12 are not so much restrainedand simply cling against the inner surfaces of the end panels by theirown spring pressure. Wire fastenings 16 are secured to the ends of theslat 1 1, and are adapted for engagement with nails 17 which are drivenpartially into the side panels 6. \Vhen the removable members are placedin position, the wire fastenings 16 are secured and this being done theyserve to hold the removable members more firmly in position.

The operation of my device is as follows: The body portions of thecrates are, for purposes of shipping in bulk, flattened out as indicatedby dotted lines in Fig. 1, these body portions and the removable membersbeing shipped separately or together, as desired. In order to fit up thecrate ready to receive material to be transported, the body portion isarranged as indicated in Fig. 1. The detachable member serving as thebottom is placed in position as above described, the crate is turned sothat the detachable member just mentioned is downward, the material tobe transported is next placed in the crate, and finally the detachablemember representing the top is placed in position as indicated in Figs.2 and 3. The wire fastenings are neat secured and this completes theoperation.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent:

1. In a crate, the combination of a body portion provided with endpanels and with side panels, and a detachable member provided with aslat for engaging saidside panels and thus momentarily supporting saiddetachable member, said detachable member being further provided withspring boards for engaging the under side of said end panels and beingalso provided with slats disposed at its ends to prevent said detachablemember from moving in the general direc tion of its length or frombecoming detached from said end panels.

2. In a crate, the combination of a body portion provided with panelsdisposed in one plane and with other panels crossing saidfirst-mentioned panels and disposed in another plane, and a detachablemember comprising a number of spring boards connected together by acentral panel, said central panel being long enough to reach entirelyacross said body portion and overlap said first-mentioned panels, saiddetachable member being further provided with portions to be sprungunder said first-mentioned panels, and fastening members for connectingthe overlapping portions of said central panel to the adjacent portionsof said first-mentioned panels.

3. In a crate, the combination of a body portion provided with endpanels and with side panels, said side panels comprising a plurality ofrods disposed parallel with each other, two of said rods, located at theends of each side panel, serving as pintles upon which said end panelsare journaled for the purpose of allowing the same to bend relatively tosaid side panels, and a detachable member provided with a centrallydisposed slat for engaging said side panels and thus materiallysupporting said detachable member, said detachable member being furtherprovided with spring boards for engaging said end panels, and alsoprovided with slats disposed at its ends to prevent said detachablemember from moving in the general direction of its length, or frombecoming detached from said end panels.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

DON F. PAYNE.

\Vitnesses Cums. L. YUNG, MILDRED SEATON.

